"He may yet." His grin softens to fondness. "Then you will hear both of us talking about birds for hours."

Especially the cute, flightless ones. Lan Zhan already got an earful about baby penguins some weeks ago.

"It grows it from its forehead like a butterfly's antenna. There is a tiny ball of light on one end, so fish will swim closer to see what it might be, and then -- " He snaps his fingers. "A meal for the lantern fish."